One last exciting blog tour stop for the week, and this one is with one of my very favorite authors!! So needless to say, I'm excited to be a part of it! :D Cat Winters has given us some of the most outstanding YA historical/paranormal stories and I have loved every single one: The Shadow of Blackbirds, The Cure For Dreaming, The Uninvited (actually an adult book, but equally as wonderful!), and now...
A Steep and Thorny Way
Today I have an exclusive excerpt from the book and, of course, the tour-wide giveaway of 5 gorgeous finished copies. Read on!
by Cat Winters
♦publisher: Amulet Books
♦release date: March 8th, 2016
♦hardcover, 352 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦standalone
A thrilling reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Steep and Thorny Way tells the story of a murder most foul and the mighty power of love and acceptance in a state gone terribly rotten.
1920s Oregon is not a welcoming place for Hanalee Denney, the daughter of a white woman and an African-American man. She has almost no rights by law, and the Ku Klux Klan breeds fear and hatred in even Hanalee’s oldest friendships. Plus, her father, Hank Denney, died a year ago, hit by a drunk-driving teenager. Now her father’s killer is out of jail and back in town, and he claims that Hanalee’s father wasn’t killed by the accident at all but, instead, was poisoned by the doctor who looked after him—who happens to be Hanalee’s new stepfather.
The only way for Hanalee to get the answers she needs is to ask Hank himself, a “haint” wandering the roads at night.
1920s Oregon is not a welcoming place for Hanalee Denney, the daughter of a white woman and an African-American man. She has almost no rights by law, and the Ku Klux Klan breeds fear and hatred in even Hanalee’s oldest friendships. Plus, her father, Hank Denney, died a year ago, hit by a drunk-driving teenager. Now her father’s killer is out of jail and back in town, and he claims that Hanalee’s father wasn’t killed by the accident at all but, instead, was poisoned by the doctor who looked after him—who happens to be Hanalee’s new stepfather.
The only way for Hanalee to get the answers she needs is to ask Hank himself, a “haint” wandering the roads at night.
THE EXCERPT:
A scene from Chapter Three. Hanalee Denney has just learned from Joe Adder, the boy imprisoned fordriving drunk and killing her father, that her new stepfather was actually the person who murdered her dad. She discusses this troubling information with her closest friend, Fleur.
_____________
“Joe hinted that Uncle Clyde’s involved with the Klan.”
At that, Fleur sputtered a laugh. “This isn’t the old South. Do you know what the Oregon KKK is like?”
“I know, I know—they’re pushing to fix roads and improve public education.”
“And they have ridiculous names for their ranks. ‘Imperial Wizard,’ ‘Exalted Cyclops,’ ‘Great Titan.’”
I shuddered, not liking such names at all. “How do you know that?”
“Mama once received an invitation to join the Women of the Ku Klux Klan in Bentley, and they included all sorts of pamphlets. But don’t worry”—Fleur flipped her magazine to an advertisement for Mulsified Cocoanut Oil Shampoo—“she didn’t join them. She heard that the organization’s mainly a big business venture out to collect money from people still scared of immigrants from the war years.”
I held my forehead in my hand and sighed from deep within my lungs.
“Hanalee . . .” Fleur squeezed my right shoulder. “You’re safe here in Elston, despite a few prejudiced folks out there who might imply otherwise. And you’re safe in your house with Dr. Koning. You’ve told me yourself that he saved your mother when she was sick with grief and drugging herself with nerve pills. How could a kind man like that commit murder?”
“He did marry her awfully quickly—just thirteen short months after we put my poor father in the
ground.”
“Hanalee, don’t—”
“Uncle Clyde was always friendly with her”—I picked at one of the magazine’s curled-up corners—“even before Daddy died. They’ve known each other as long as your mama has known her, since childhood.”
“Your mother’s a likable person.”
“She is. She’d be worth killing for, wouldn’t she?”
“Stop it, Hanalee.”
“Especially if your target was a man with no rights and no respect—only a pretty white wife who wasn’t even considered his legal spouse within this state. Oh, Jesus, Fleur”—I gave a start, for the music came to an abrupt halt again—“I hate that I’m tempted to believe that jailbird. I hate that he planted these sickening seeds inside my brain.”
“Shh.” She cupped her warm fingers over my hand. “Stop thinking about Joe tonight. Stay here with me, have a calming cup of tea, and push all your worries off to another time. I’ll take care of you, Hana-Honey.” She kissed my cheek with lips butterfly soft. “Like always.”
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| Photo by Tara Kelly |
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Don't forget to hit the rest of the tour stops!
2/29/2016- Adventures of a Book Junkie- Interview
3/1/2016- The Forest of Words and Pages- Review
3/2/2016- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post
3/3/2016- A Dream Within A Dream- Review
3/4/2016- Stories & Sweeties- Excerpt
3/7/2016- Jessabella Reads- Review
3/8/2016- Bookish Lifestyle- Guest Post
3/9/2016- Katie's Book Blog- Review
3/10/2016- The Fox's Hideaway- Interview
3/11/2016- MEREADALOT- Review
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